Phronēsis

In ancient Greek philosophy, () refers to the type of wisdom or intelligence concerned with practical action. It implies good judgment and excellence of character and habits. In Aristotelian ethics, the concept is distinguished from other words for wisdom and intellectual virtues (such as and ) because of its practical character.

Ancient Greek Philosophy

Socrates

In some of Socrates' dialogues, he proposes that is a necessary condition for all virtue, and that to be good is to be an intelligent or reasonable person with intelligent and reasonable thoughts. In Plato's ''Meno'', Socrates writes that is the most important attribute to learn, although it cannot be taught and is instead gained through the understanding of one's own self.

Aristotle

In Aristotle's work, is the intellectual virtue that helps turn one's moral instincts into practical action. He writes that moral virtues help any person to achieve the end, and that is what it takes to discover the means to gain that end. Without moral virtues, degenerates into an inability to make practical actions in regards to genuine goods for man.

In the sixth book of Aristotle's ''Nicomachean Ethics'', he distinguished the concepts of (wisdom) and , and described the relationship between them and other intellectual virtues. He writes that is a combination of , the ability to discern reality, and , things that "could not be otherwise".He then writes that involves not only the ability to decide how to reach a certain end, but the ability to reflect upon and determine "good ends" as well.

Aristotle also writes that although is higher and more serious than , the pursuit of wisdom and happiness requires both, as facilitates . According to Aristotle's theory of rhetoric, is one of the three types of appeals to character ().

Aristotle claims that gaining phronesis requires gaining experience, as he writes:

Modern Philosophy

According to philosophers Kristjánsson, Fowers, Darnell and Pollard, ''phronesis'' means making decisions in regards to moral events or circumstances. This four-component philosophical account became known as the ''Aristotelian Phronesis Model'', or ''APM''. There is recent work to return the virtue of practical judgement to overcome disagreements and conflicts in the form of Aristotle's ''phronesis''.

In Social Sciences

In Alasdair MacIntyre's book After Virtue, he called for a phronetic social science. He writes that for every prediction made by social scientific theory there are usually counter-examples, meaning that the unpredictability of human beings and human life requires focus on practical experiences.

In psychologist Heiner Rindermann's book ''Cognitive Capitalism'', he uses the term to describe a rational approach to thinking and acting, "a circumspect and thoughtful way of life in a rational manner".

Critiques of the ''APM'''s empirical limitations led to McLoughlin, Thoma, and Kristjánsson developing the ''neo-Aristotelian Phronesis Model (neo-APM)'', which refines the construct using contemporary psychometric techniques. This updated model empirically identified ten distinct components and employed network analysis to highlight the interconnectedness and centrality of key elements, such as aspired moral identity and moral deliberation. The neo-APM thus provides a more nuanced and empirically valid framework for understanding practical wisdom in psychological and educational contexts.

See also

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* Metanoia (disambiguation)

References

Sources and further reading

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{{Virtues

Aristotelianism
Concepts in ancient Greek ethics
Intelligence
Philosophy of Aristotle
Virtue